1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to transferring data, and in particular to transferring data between computers over a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the use of the Internet has increased, it has become more common for service providers to offer voice and fax services, wherein a service provider may receive via the PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network) and store on the service provider's computer system voice messages and faxes intended for a service subscriber. The service provider then may email, or offer for download via the Internet, the stored voice messages and faxes.
However, with respect to emailing voice mail and fax files, the voice mail and fax files may be very large (e.g., several megabytes in size), and so may exceed the file size permitted by a subscriber's email provider and will significantly slow the transfer of such email to the subscriber's computer.
With respect to downloading voice mail and fax files, where such files are relatively large, the download process may utilize an undesirable amount of the subscriber's network bandwidth and computer resources. If the subscriber is utilizing a dial-up link (as opposed to a broadband connection), the download delays and the burden placed on the subscriber's computer resources can be especially problematic.
Some conventional service providers attempt to provide the subscriber with a list of messages in a messaging mailbox. If subscriber wants to play or display a message, the requested message is downloaded to the user's computer on demand. Disadvantageously, some such conventional systems download all of the messages via the Internet at the beginning of the subscriber's dial-up session, resulting in a clogged Internet connection, or the subscriber has to wait each time the subscriber requests a message. Another disadvantage is that subscribers of many such conventional services cannot access messages when they are not connected to the Internet.